Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Review: Family Storytime - Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

By Rachel Taylor*

Nope. No way.
I wouldn’t have believed it either – but there really is something right here in Glasgow which is brilliant for families
(including children of any age),
loads of fun but still educational, perfectly tailored to young minds yet still
entertaining for the grown-ups, inclusive to a whole bunch of people and even
helps to grow the kids’ imaginations.Welcome to
Family Storytime at Scottish Youth Theatre!

Upon arriving
for your storytime – in this instance, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves – you
will be greeted enthusiastically by your storytellers in rhyme. As they lead
you into the theatre space you will find yourselves transported: if the
tinkling Arabian-sounding music doesn’t take you to far-off places, the shining
fabrics hung from the walls and props and the dozens of costume pieces
certainly will.

There is a
distinct lack of set and scenery, but this is because the imaginations of the
audience are key. When creating Ali Baba’s woodland, the children were invited
up to discover where their imaginations took them, exploring what they could
see, hear and feel in their wood. The storytellers skilfully guide the process,
offering suggestions of their own and asking lots of questions for the children
to react to. This process happened several times throughout the story, right up
to the celebratory feast at the end.

But back to
the “theatre space”. Far from trying to keep the kids in seats while lofty
actors proclaim down from a stage on high, Family Storytime takes place in a
studio – in simple terms, just a room rather than a theatre with a raised stage
– keeping the storytellers on a level with their audience: even the little ones
on cushions at the front. Not only that, but the children (as a whole group,
not just a select one or two) become part of the production – from picking out
each character’s costume to walking through the woodland they have imagined
together; from helping Ali Baba chop enough wood to feed his family to hunting
around for the greedy Kaseem whilst keeping an eye out for the King of Thieves
himself! All of these come with rhymes and songs – short and set to recognisable
nursery rhyme tunes so that even the smaller participants will still have them learned in moments.

These active
parts are interspersed with short bursts of the story at only a few minutes
long at a time – perfect for keeping the little ‘uns from tiring of the tale.

Once the story
is done, there is a short time where imagination is all that rules the roost as
little and big kids alike are invited to explore the props, fabrics and
costumes in the room and to see what they can become!

All too soon,
though, a bell signals tidy-up time and it’s time to leave Arabia behind with
“a round of applause, a seal of approval and a big hand”.

The magical
time certainly gets my seal of approval and from the entranced children and
fascinated families; from seeing every single audience member participate; from
hearing the gushing praise as the audience left, I’d guess it got theirs too.

* Rachel is a member of SYT's Young Reviewers group. A group of young people who are passionate about performing arts for children and young
people. If you want to take part or to find out more, you can email
kyriakosv@scottishyouththeatre.org.